I want a semi-auto .22. Best choice for under $300?

[Trey Veston]

Going jack rabbit hunting in Southern Idaho middle of December and I currently have 2 .22 rifles. One is my Grandfather's 1930's semi auto Remington that only fires .22 shorts and the other is my Uberti Silver Boy lever action. Was just going to take the Silver Boy but starting January 1st, WA has made it quite difficult to buy any semi-auto rifles for residents. I have all the ARs and AR10s I need, but don't have a good .22 semi-auto.

So I'm thinking I should probably buy a decent .22 rifle. My first thought was the 10/22. I've owned a couple over the years and they are great little rifles. I see the copper mica versions are on sale for about $250. A basic stainless one with synthetic stock is about the same.

Really won't be looking for anything to hot rod, but just want a decent reliable and accurate rifle for the occasional squirrel and rabbit shoot.

 

[easy]

10/22, M60, Stevens, Rossi - pretty much anything that will shoot minute of charcoal briquette will do what you are looking for.

 

[Blue Brick]

I am looking at getting a Savage 64.

 

[Trey Veston]

CDNN had a Black Friday special on the Ruger 10/22 Copper Mica rifle. $219 plus included a cheap 3x9 scope and rings. No CC fees and $9.79 shipping.

Ordered it.

https://www.cdnnsports.com/rugerr-10-22r-22lr-copper-mica-stock.html#.W_eIk-SWzL8

 

[Sistema1927]

10/22

Great out of the box, but if you want to "hot rod" later then you will already have the perfect platform.

 

[cdb1]

Get a Model 60 or a 10/22, whichever floats your boat. Do you want tube or magazine feed?

 

[ontarget]

I like them all but have a soft spot for the Marlin M60 in any of its varieties. Well, I don't like plastic stocks. They are great shooters typically and no DBM to leave at home when you head for the woods. Look for one in stainless, they are pretty.

 

[earlthegoat2]

I would not buy it new but if I were looking for a semi auto .22, I would probably buy a Remington 552 from a few decades ago. Can be had for under $300 still.

 

[someguy2800]

can't beat a 10-22

 

[Trey Veston]

It's sad that I can't buy anything locally. I was checking out the 10/22s at the only LGS within 50 miles and they wanted $280 for a regular stainless 10/22. They are $220 to $240 online.

 

[HamSlamma]

Just bought two Ruger 10-22's.

They do a great job!

 

[bannockburn]

My first rifle over 40 years ago was a 10/22. Still have it and it's the most reliable and accurate .22 I have ever used.

 

[Sistema1927]

It's sad that I can't buy anything locally. I was checking out the 10/22s at the only LGS within 50 miles and they wanted $280 for a regular stainless 10/22. They are $220 to $240 online.

Remember that by the time you paid for shipping and transfer fees you would be at the same point. Plus the fact that the local guy has to maintain a brick & mortar store and associated overhead.

 

[Trey Veston]

Remember that by the time you paid for shipping and transfer fees you would be at the same point. Plus the fact that the local guy has to maintain a brick & mortar store and associated overhead.

Sorry, but that is entirely false.

CDNN charges me $9.79 for shipping, and my FFL charges $15 per transfer. That equals $24. Locally, they don't even have the Copper-Mica edition in stock, and they certainly aren't throwing in a $35 scope and $10 set of rings with every 10/22.

So based upon the $40 to $60 price difference of the standard stainless 10/22, please explain this "new math" that you are using to make $240 + $9.79 + $15 a greater sum than $280. And don't forget the online gun also includes $45 worth of free stuff in the form of the scope and rings.

Sometimes local is better. I just bought a new Glock. The model I wanted was $599 online and was the best price I could find. Went to the local shop where I compete in GSSF matches and I got one through the GSSF discount program for $499.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Unless I was in dire need right now, I would hold out for a nice used Remington 552. If I had to have a brand new .22 semi-auto as quick as possible, I reckon I would pick a model 60 in SS with a laminate stock.

 

[Sistema1927]

Sorry, but that is entirely false.

CDNN charges me $9.79 for shipping, and my FFL charges $15 per transfer. That equals $24. Locally, they don't even have the Copper-Mica edition in stock, and they certainly aren't throwing in a $35 scope and $10 set of rings with every 10/22.

Good for you. Sounds like a no-brainer, in this case.

My comment was directed to the situation more commonly encountered, where people try to nickle & dime themselves buying online, only to discover that once they pay the $35-40 shipping and $25-30 transfer fee that they haven't saved anything.

"Entirely false"? A little harsh perhaps?

 

[ontarget]

You definitely need to add up all the fine print to make sure online purchases of firearms is still a good deal. Sometimes its great and sometimes not.

 

[Trey Veston]

Good for you. Sounds like a no-brainer, in this case.

My comment was directed to the situation more commonly encountered, where people try to nickle & dime themselves buying online, only to discover that once they pay the $35-40 shipping and $25-30 transfer fee that they haven't saved anything.

"Entirely false"? A little harsh perhaps?

Entirely false applied to my situation and sorry if it came off as harsh.

I have heard of FFLs in some areas charging $25+ for transfers. Most places around here charge $20 or less. I am in an odd area as there is exactly one FFL in my county; a full-time sheriff's deputy who runs an FFL out of his home. He charges $15 and is 15 miles from my house.

The Glock I ordered is out of an Idaho shop 50 miles South on the border of Washington. They transfer it to an Ace Hardware store 2 miles away in Washington which charges $20 for the transfer. So, when the gun comes in a week later, I have to drive the 50 miles South to the Idaho shop, pay for the pistol, then drive to the Washington shop, pay the $20, then the WA state tax, and drive home. The $100 I saved on the pistol by buying locally is eaten into by gas costs.

Buying guns for Washington residents in this area is difficult and expensive. It's much easier to buy a gun online, have it shipped to the FFL 15 miles away, then pick it up from there. Cheaper too considering gas and my 15mpg SUV. Each trip to the shop down South is $22 in gas.

 

[cdb1]

I think most of us are smart enough to figure out the difference in cost between buying online and local. I can almost always save a considerable amount of money buying online from an out of state online dealer.

 

[LoonWulf]

It's sad that I can't buy anything locally. I was checking out the 10/22s at the only LGS within 50 miles and they wanted $280 for a regular stainless 10/22. They are $220 to $240 online.

220+shipping+dealer fee and your awful close to 280.
Least out here.
Every situation is different tho.

Again even if it still cost me an extra bit of change I buy local.

 

[MedWheeler]

Anyone mention the 10/22?

That one bannockburn posted above (#11) looks just like mine, purchased in 1987, did for 24 years, until I fell for "tacti-cool" and Tapco'd it up.

To be honest, it's downright fun to shoot in the Intrafuse stock, but not nearly as handsome, so I bought an old Glenfield 75 and two Marlin 99M1 rifles to make up for my lack of a handsome, wood-finished rimfire carbine.

 

[Spats McGee]

CDNN had a Black Friday special on the Ruger 10/22 Copper Mica rifle. $219 plus included a cheap 3x9 scope and rings. No CC fees and $9.79 shipping.

Ordered it.

https://www.cdnnsports.com/rugerr-10-22r-22lr-copper-mica-stock.html#.W_eIk-SWzL8

View attachment 812984

An excellent choice! If my hunch (although it really is just a hunch at this point) is correct, that black butt piece on that stock can probably be swapped out for different ones. My Ruger American Rimfire has the modular stock system, and it looks just like that. I'd almost be willing to bet that you could order RAR stock modules and they'd fit your 10/22.

My first rifle over 40 years ago was a 10/22. Still have it and it's the most reliable and accurate .22 I have ever used.

View attachment 812992

Good looking rifle, bannockburn. I got one almost identical to it about 40 years ago. It runs, and runs, and runs, almost no matter what I put in the magazine.

 

[kBob]

Not to sound like a broken record, but....those slick, smooth Ruger butt plates can be immensely improved by cutting a one and a half inch section of bicycle inner tube. removing the butt plate from the rifle, slipping the tube on and screwing the butt plate back on. The remaining length of bicycle inner tube can be used for any number of Bubba projects around the house or make improvements to the butt plates of your next 20 or so 10/22s.

There is after all a little Bubba in all of us. Hmm, …-kBubba? "If you can't be handsome....."

-kBob